May steel shipments down .8%

The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that for the month of May 2008, United States steel mills shipped 9,008,000 net tons, a 0.8 percent decrease from the 9,087,000 net tons shipped in May 2007 and a 4.2 percent decrease from the 9,403,000 net tons shipped in the previous month, April 2008.

A year-to-year comparison of year-to-date shipments shows the following changes within major market classifications: service centers and distributors, up 4.3 percent; automotive, down 4.1 percent; construction and contractors’ products, down 2.7 percent; and oil and gas, up 5.6 percent.